Thursday, August 9, 2007

Hot Buffalo


Hello from the Bison Farm!
It's been a hot miserable week, heat wise. Heat index has been around 108 to 110 the last few days.
I just went out to check the bison since I couldn't see the water tank from my view from the Visitors Center porch. All the herd was crowding in front of the tank.

Was it upright? Had they tipped the portable rubber tank over? I drove out to check because we can't have them going without water.

The animals were panting from the heat, but they rarely seek shade- they want to see "what's coming". They had tipped the tank enough times to splash out water, and were taking turns cooling down in the soupy mud.

Cow Freda (back end showing in the snapshot) is always hogging the puddle, and as you can see from the photo, her little female calf is learning the same trick with her muddy little face. Wouldn't little Flicka be a mess to clean- if you could catch her!

We're still working on the new website. Please look around and let me know if things aren't linked right, info you'd like to see, etc. School group information is up, but more info will be added to the Giant Pumpkin Contest.
At least I'm inside my air conditioned pasture office while updating things, instead of being in the pasture heat, so I won't complain.
Until next time, direct from the hot Kansas prairie...where the buffalo are keeping cool in the mud...
Linda
P.S. Please sign up under the "Bison Tracks" to continue receiving my Farm Kansas Diary via this blog. We'll be switching over eventually from my old system, and that way you can still keep up with the buffalo and the farm activities.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Hot days makes big pumpkins


Our hot humid August days is really making the pumpkins grow. Verne and I took a four day break from the farm and headed to cool Colorado last week. Now coming home, and going out to the pumpkin fields, they have exploded with vines and pumpkins. Where there were alleyways, now it's solid leaves. We also got 3 inches of rain while we were gone, so of course that helped too.

We don't have very many competetion pumpkins over hundred pounders yet, but I had someone email yesterday that will be coming to our Giant Pumpkin Contest on Oct. 6th. He already had two 400 lb. pumpkins that were gaining 25 lbs a day. Wow, just think how many pumpkin pies that would make! Hopefully these giants will keep growing and not have any problems. I'd love to see a 1000 pounder at our contest this year. The top weight last year was 691 lbs.

Do you have a pumpkin that you'd like to bring? Last year we had cash prizes of $250, $150 and $100 for the top three weights, and contestants from three states. It was quite a show and lots of fun and photos.

Our herd bull Tonka LOVES pumpkins, and I'd love to see him tackle (literally) a giant pumpkin. But right now he's into the breeding season, so he has other things on his mind.... He'll be ready for pumpkins in October.